Duke Energy seeks 680 MW of renewables in Carolinas RfP

July 11 (Renewables Now) - Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) on Tuesday introduced a solar rebate programme for North Carolina and announced a request for proposals (RfPs) for adding 680 MW of renewable energy capacity in both North and South Carolina.

The competitive selection is targeting new solar or other renewable energy facilities. Bids will be accepted by September 11.

The process will be managed by an independent administrator and will be open for any company. Proposals can be in the form of power purchase agreements (PPAs), utility self-developed power plants or asset acquisitions. Each project has to cover a single facility with a capacity of between 1 MW and 80 MW, ready to begin operations no later than January 1, 2021.

SOLAR REBATES

As part of the solar rebates programme, Duke Energy is to allocate USD 62 million (EUR 52.9m) in solar rebates over the next five years. Residential customers can get a rebate of USD 0.60 per watt for installing photovoltaic (PV) arrays of 10 kW or less. Systems with capacities higher than 10 kW will be eligible for up to USD 6,000 per project. Meanwhile, non-residential customers will be able to get USD 0.50 per watt, while USD 0.75 per watt will be available for PV plants of up to 100 kW by nonprofit organisations. Maximum rebate rates have been also set for plants of over 100 kW.

The rebate proposal is available both for owned and leased solar power systems in North Carolina.

Veselina Petrova is one of SeeNews Renewables most experienced green energy writers. For several years she has been keeping track of game-changing events both large and small projects and across the globe.